


Solace

by Ravenmist4



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Nightmares, Post-Calamity Ganon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, ambiguous nightmare description, crying while cuddling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23253571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenmist4/pseuds/Ravenmist4
Summary: A few weeks after defeating Calamity Ganon, another nightmare plagues Zelda. In her distress, Link is there to reassure her that things are finally going to be okay.(Just another shameless comfort fic involving our two exhausted heroes!)
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

Everything was sweltering. 

Around her, tendrils of oozing malice crept closer. Closer. She couldn’t scream. Couldn’t breathe. It wrapped around her, tenderly at first, before clenching so tightly she could scarcely tell where  _ he  _ ended and where she began. Enfolding her, encasing whatever was left until she became a pyre of terror and revulsion. 

She opened her mouth to cry out- to shriek, to weep,  _ anything _ . No avail. Her lungs were burning, and yet when she inhaled, she was only greeted with dripping malevolence in place of oxygen. She was choking, sputtering, fighting against her primal urge to breathe in order to keep _ it  _ from invading her entire body. 

Once again, she was powerless. Before she knew it, it enveloped her entire world. First, as the calamity itself, and now as this. A foul, wretched, primordial essence of evil incarnate. Behind her eyelids, seeping into every coherent thought. She couldn’t block it out. Couldn’t close her eyes. A dark, inky abyss of nothing but  _ him _ . Everything she had been trying so hard to avoid, to protect her loved ones from. 

After taking everything precious from her, it was finally her turn. The final ending to a grim, forlorn story. Once she fell, there would truly be nothing left of her kingdom. No hope. No hero.

Nothing.

It shrouded her, clinging like a second skin. She could feel it descend into her lungs, her pores, sinking into every orifice. She didn’t want it to end this way. The moment she gave in, the rest of her people's fates would be sealed. She had to keep trying, even as she felt her mortal body sink deeper and deeper into that darkness. Thrashing, kicking, every muscle screamed at her to stop, but she continued. In futile hopes of keeping it at bay, if only for a moment. 

Somehow, someway, she felt  _ something  _ within the depth of malice. With renewed vigor, Zelda grasped onto it, digging her nails in. A shape was beginning to take form, she could feel the heat radiating off of it. Trapping her. She proceeded to lift her other arm, hand swiping blindly with a vengeance. She could hear her heartbeat once more, the blood pounding within her veins. 

Half-cognizant, it slowly dawned on her that she wasn’t dying. Calamity Ganon was finished with. And yet, her shock and distress continued to weigh on her. Gasping for air, she could finally breathe again, and the quivering sobs that followed shook her entire body. The relentless flurry of her kicks and pummeling limbs began to wind down. Ears ringing, chest heaving, it took Zelda a few minutes to even become aware of Link’s presence. Whatever words he may have uttered, it fell to deaf ears. She took in none of it. Everything had been lost in her dream, mirroring a reality that very easily could’ve happened, but he was  _ here _ . Alive.

Ignoring her sweat slicked body, she quickly pressed herself to him. Clinging as if he would disappear from her grasp if she loosened it in the slightest. Lightheadedness and residue terror clouded her senses, and the most she could do was try to muffle her open-mouthed sobs as she trembled against him. 

“L… Link—” She forced out the consonants of his name between convulsive gasps. The bed’s comforter pooled at her ankles, entwined with her feet. The room gradually stopped spinning, and she realized dully that there was no sign of blight. No flickering shapes or glowing, amber eyes. He had already saved her. Those fears were no longer. Nothing was left of her time with Ganon, except for her own ghosts and Link’s many scars. Disillusioned, Zelda’s remnants of past memories began to fade away as her heart palpitations lessened. 

Concentrating on the present, she maneuvered her body— modesty a faraway concern— and leaned her face into the crook of Link’s neck. He didn’t share the same acrid, pungent scent that now lurked within the hallways of Hyrule Castle. 

She needed to feel safe. Needed to  _ be  _ safe. And she was, wasn’t she? Link’s home was a harbor. His company was her solace. They were safe. 

Internally, she repeated the word, cradled it to her chest as if it were a precious thing. 

Safe.


	2. Chapter 2

His arms encircled her, a comforting heat (unlike the seething warmth which radiated off of malice, burning through flesh as though it were parchment). She could feel his pulse underneath her cheek, and her overwhelming anxiety lessened ever so slightly. The trembling faded. His voice cooed above her, murmuring assurances as his right hand began to comb through her blonde tresses. It was undoubtedly tangled from her prior struggle, and yet she could barely feel resistance as Link gently worked his fingers through the half-formed knots. Her body untensed, relaxing, and Zelda’s head shifted from his neck to rest against his chest. Her tears were beginning to dry, and once the panic fully retreated, a new sense of shame began to fester. 

“...I’m sorry.” She rasped, the words a familiar mantra to her. 

What was she apologizing for? She wasn’t quite sure. Being a burden, perhaps. Her behavior mirrored that of a newborn babe— needing to be coddled and reassured at every moment. Pathetic. If only she could’ve stayed as Hylia’s divine vessel for just a bit longer after defeating Ganon; rather than nearly vomiting on her already unsalvageable prayer dress, before passing out, just hours after reuniting with Link. 

Unfortunately, it made sense for him to have seen her at her (many) worsts. After all, they had spent nearly every day together for 2 years. She had just selfishly hoped that he wouldn’t remember _t_ _ hose _ aspects of her. And yet, here she was, cementing the image of her weakness and fragile mental state even further. Lovely.

The faint, metallic scent of blood wafted towards her, and Zelda momentarily wondered if it was a lingering hallucination from her nightmare. Blinking her eyes open, she shakily lifted her head from Link’s front, searching for the source.

“Link?” Her chest tightened, and she pulled away to glance at him. He could reassure her that it was all a dream. He was real, after all, and would never lie to her.

Yet, it didn’t seem to be a dream. When Zelda’s eyes focused on his face, she could’ve sworn  _ something _ was dripping down his cheek. Impulsively, Zelda reached her hand out, cupping the side of his face. She wasn’t hallucinating; he had been bleeding. 

It was a light wound, barely a scrape, but it made all the difference. Detaching herself from him completely, she wrenched her hand away, as hastily as if she had been burnt. Staring wide-eyed at her palm, even in the dim room, she could see the mark of blood against her fair skin. His blood. Grimacing, she held up her hand, spotting the same, similar patches of gore underneath her fingernails. She must’ve directed her unconscious onslaught upon Link, while being completely unaware of it.

“I— I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, I was just—”    
  


Her words evaded her, frustration sparking as she fumbled and repeated herself. She lightly bit down upon her bottom lip as it began to tremble, a harsh reminder for herself to  _ stop crying _ .

“Ganon was there, in my dream.” She blurted tearily, as if her explanation would somehow fix things. She knew it wouldn’t, but continued nonetheless. “I was fighting him again, only this time I wasn’t able to keep him at bay; I kept trying, and trying..” 

Sighing, she looked away from Link, focused instead on wiping the palm of her hand on her ivory nightgown. “I wasn’t strong enough. All hope was lost.” She finished lamely, before swallowing down hard. “Again, I’m sorry, I know that’s no excuse. Is there anything I could do to make up for it? I can get you a poultice for the cut, or..”

Pausing, she gave some thought to her question before tentatively suggesting: “I could take the extra quilt and sleep downstairs; you could get some much-needed rest that way. I really don’t mind having to.” 

It’d be cold, she thought to herself miserably, but it’d be necessary. There’s only so much one man can take from an over-glorified Princess. Once they left for Kakariko, which was soon, they could return to sleeping in separate beds. What they were doing, despite its chaste and innocence, was still unseemly for two unmarried Hylians. Not to mention unbecoming for the future Queen of Hyrule. It was only a matter of time before their identities would be public knowledge, and they would have to return to being discrete. Whether she liked it or not.

It was obvious, and imminent, yet she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of loss for their prospective relations. She had grown to find solace in his close proximity, and wasn’t too keen on losing it prematurely. 

Sheepishly, she added. “Unless you’d prefer me to stay— either way, I’ll keep my hands, and nails, to myself from now on. I promise.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope the first few paragraphs with Zelda's dream weren't too confusing, the first chapter is mostly just her only barely-aware-of-her-surroundings pov.
> 
> If you liked it (or even if you didn't) please leave a review, critique, comments, questions, etc, anything you'd like!  
> Have a good day & stay safe


End file.
